Hop drier and curer.



Patented Mar. 26' I90?- J. K. MOUNT.

HOP DRIER AND GUREB.

(N M d l (Applichtion filed Nov. 26, 1900.)

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NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN K. MOUNT, OF SILVERTON, OREGON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ARCHIE G. WOLFARD, OF SAME PLACE.

HOP DRIER AND CURER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 670,620, dated March 26, 1901.

Application filed November 26, 1900. Serial No. 37,827. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN K. MOUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Silverton,

in the county of Marion and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Hop Drier and Curer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the art of drying and curing hops and the like, and has for its object to provide an improved box for containing the hops and an improved kiln for the reception of a plurality of such boxes and to facilitate the turning or reversing of the boxes, so that all parts of the contents there of may be effectively exposed to the heat of the kiln to dry and cure the hops.

With this and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and'particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view taken through one corner of the improved kiln and through some of the boxes therein, one of the latter being removed to expose a portion of the bottom of the kiln. Fig. 2 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of one of the removable bottoms, which also serves as a top for a box when the latter is being reversed. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1, illustrating the means for preventinglateral displacement of one end of the combined lid and bottom.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 designate, respectively, the front and one side of the improved kiln, which has a slatted bottom formed by the crossed sills or beams '3 and 4, so as to provide an open or perforate bottom, in order that the heat generated in any suitable manner (not shown) may pass upwardly through the bottom, and thereby have access to the interior of the kiln. Of those floor beams or slats which extend in one direction the alternate ones are provided in opposite edges with corresponding vertical notches or recesses 5 for the reception of the fingerpieces of the fastenings upon the boxes, as will be hereinafter explained. The front of the kiln is provided with a doorway 6, through which the boxes are designed to be inserted and removed. Each box hasaskeleton frame, comprising the longitudinal sidebars '7, the end bars 8, connecting the respective ends of the side bars, and the corner-posts 9, coinpleting the frame, ovr opposite sides and ends of which is stretched some foraminous material 10 to form perforate sides and ends for the free circulation of heat through the box. Thus the top and bottom sides of the box are entirely open, and either of these open sides is designed to be closed by means of a closure 11, (best shown in Fig. 3,) and normally forming the bottom of the box. The closure has a rectangular skeleton frame to correspond to the shape of the box and is provided with an intermediate longitudinal brace 12 to stiffen the frame and also form an intermediate support for the covering of foraminous or screen material 13, similar to that used upon the box. This screen material is applied to the outer side of the frame, so that the inner edge of one end of the latter is free for the attachment of a pair of latorally-projecting hook-shaped clips 14, the free or hooked ends of which project outwardly and terminate within the plane of the outer edge of the adjacent end of the closure. As indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the hooked ends of the clips are designed to embrace the inner edges of the adjacent end of the box, so as to hold that end of the closure against accidental displacement from the box. At the opposite end of the closure and midway between the opposite sides thereof there is provided a locking-tumbler 15 in the form of a cam, which is carried by the inner end of a rotatable stem 16, that extends through a perforation in the adjacentend of the brace 12, the outer end of the stem being provided with a transverse finger-piece 17, whereby the locking-tumbler may be thrown into and out of engagement with a notch or recess 18, formed in the inner side of the adjacent end bar of the box for the purpose of detachably connecting the closure to the box. It will be understood by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings that the opposite end bars at the same end of a box are provided with corresponding notches, whereby the closure may be applied to either open side of the box. The recesses 18 have their marginal edges protected by means of face-plates 19, which are slotted to correspond to the recesses.

As best indicated in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the clips 1% lie substantially in contact with the inner edges of the adjacent cornerposts of the. boxes, so as to prevent lateral play of the closure at the clip ends thereof. In order that lateral looseness may be prevented at the opposite ends of the lids or closures, each box is provided with a pair of stop projections 20, which extend in opposite directions beyond the respective open sides of the box. Each projection lies in the inner corner of the box and at the grooved or recessed end thereof and is preferably formed by an extension of the adjacent corner-post, the latter being notched at right angles for the reception of the ends of the end and side bars of the box. YVhen the closure is applied to either open side of the box, the respective pair of stop projections lie snugly within the corresponding corners of the frame of the closure, thereby preventing lateral play of the closure.

In employing the present invention for drying and curing hops or the like a closure is applied to each box and the latter is filled with hops and placed within the kiln through the door thereof. The crossed beams or slats of the bottom of the kiln are arranged so that each box is supported upon two pairs of beams, and adjacent boxes are supported upon a part of the beam which comes between said boxes. By this arrangement the bottom of each box is unobstructed, and thereby exposed to all of the heat which rises through the bottom of the kiln. It will now be understood that the recesses 5 in the beams at are designed to receive the finger-pieces of the closurefastenings, whereby each box is held in its proper position. When it is desired to reverse the boxes, so as to expose the upper portions thereof to the direct etfect of the heat, a closure is applied to the top of a box and then the latter is inverted, whereby the original top now becomes the bottom, and vice versa. The top of the inverted box is then removed and applied to another box, so as to close the top thereof in order that it may be inverted, this procedure being continued until all of the boxes have been inverted. It will now be apparent that all of the boxes have a bottom and are normally open at their tops, and it requires only one additional closure to successively invert all of the boxes in the manner hereinbefore described.

What is claimed is- 1. In a hop-drying apparatus, the combination of a kiln, having a slatted floor, the slats intersecting at substantially right angles, and the alternate slat-s extending in one direction being provided in opposite edges with corresponding vertical notches that lie substantially midway between the adjacent crossslats, and a plurality of drier-boxes, having removable bottoms, each of which has a detachable fastening that lies Within the adja cent notch when the box is supported upon the slatted floor.

2. In a hop-drying apparatus, the com bination of a slatted floor or support, certain of the floor-slats being provided with vertical notches, and a plurality of drier-boxes to rest upon the slatted floor, each box having a removable bottom, which is provided with 0pposite means for detachably fastening opposite ends of the bottom to the box, one of the fastening means having a finger-piece located upon the outer side of the bottom and seated in the adjacent notch of the floor-slats, when the box is supported thereon.

3. An invertible hop-drying box, having a skeleton frame covered at opposite ends and opposite sides with foraminous material, the top and bottom of the box being open, and an interchangeable top and bottom closure, formed by a skeleton frame covered with foraminous material, and provided at one end with a hooked clip constructed to detachably embrace the inner sides of the adjacent end bar of the box, and a fastening device carried by the opposite end of the closure-frame and constructed to detachably interlock with the box, the closure being normally applied to the bottom of the box, and the top of the latter being normally open.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN K. MOUNT.

Witnesses:

A. S. THOMPSON, L. P. ALDRICH. 

